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Otago Shipwrecks - 26th Sep 2017

Rocks, Reefs and Sandbars: A History of Otago Shipwrecks
by Bruce E Collins

This book covers almost 150 ships which were wrecked around the Otago coast over a period of 158 years from 1837 onwards.

The first was a whaler called Sydney Packet, a schooner of 84 tons which ran aground at Moeraki Bay. The last mentioned in this book was a fishing vessel called Vapour which was wrecked in 1994 near Waikouaiti. Some of us probably remember the last being reported in the Otago Daily Times.

In between those two is a fascinating array of information about the wrecks and the human-interest stories associated with them. This is valuable as a reference work but is also very readable if you have an interest in shipwrecks, maritime history or the Otago coastline.

Islam and Muslim Art - 22nd Sep 2017

This book by Alexandre Papadopoulo is a really stunning work on the rich materials and wonderful imagination that is Muslim art.

Islam and Muslim Art translated by Robert Erich Wolf from the original French

The Islamic Empire stretched from Spain to India and lasted for several centuries from AD632 onwards. The architecture, art, painting, calligraphy, manuscripts, bookbinding, metalwork, ceramics and carpets are all beautifully presented in this book. You can feast your eyes on the mosques, minarets, courtyards, colonnades and cupolas and immerse yourself in the shimmering colours and intricate ornamentation that the Empire is famous for.

A copy of this book would make a great gift (for yourself or someone else)

Email Fixed - 19th Sep 2017

Our email is now working again - feel free to resend any recent messages if you think we may not have received them

Trying to Email Us? - 18th Sep 2017

If you have been trying to get in touch by email for the last 24hrs you may find that emails have bounced back or you haven't had a reply - this should be fixed very soon but for now we can't send or receive any emails. If you need to contact us please call us instead (numbers at the bottom of the page). For queries about online orders please call the Dunedin shop.
We hope to have things back up and running in the next few hours. Many apologies for the inconvenience!

House of Leaves - 30th Aug 2017

Have you read this book by Mark Danielewski? Best to read it now before his 27-volume novel "The Familiar" is published and you no longer have time for this one!

This was Danielewski's debut novel and is variously described as thrilling, terrifying, distressing, un-put-downable, unforgettable, imaginative, scary, creepy, intelligent, troubling, frightening, nightmarish, and nothing like anything you have ever read before. How can you resist?

Even the format of the text is unusual. You can see a bit of what I mean in the accompanying photos but they cannot prepare you for the reality. And here's a quote from the book to whet your appetite:

"To get a better idea try this: focus on these words, and whatever you do don't let your eyes wander past the perimeter of this page. Now imagine just beyond your peripheral vision, maybe behind you, maybe to the side of you, maybe even in front of you, but right where you can't see it, something is quietly closing in on you, so quiet in fact you can only hear it as silence. Find those pockets without sound. That's where it is. Right at this moment. But don't look. Keep your eyes here. Now take a deep breath. Go ahead, take an even deeper one. Only this time as you exhale try to imagine how fast it will happen, how hard it's gonna hit you, how many times it will stab your jugular with its teeth or are they nails?, don't worry, that particular detail doesn't matter, because before you have time to process that you should be moving, you should be running, you should at the very least be flinging up your arms-you sure as hell should be getting rid of this book-you won't have time to even scream.Don't look.I didn't."

We have both hardcover and softcover editions available.

IN PURSUIT OF PLANTS BY PHILIP SHORT - 15th Aug 2017

This would be a great gift for a botanist, plant lover, gardener, or in fact anyone with an interest in the plant collectors of the 19th & early 20th century. A really good book to have by your bed or on a coffee table and dip in and out as the mood takes you.

The book is a mixture of scientific exploration, travel, biographical details of the collectors, and some excerpts from each person's first-hand journals and letters. There are some beautiful botanical illustrations and modern photographs as well.

The book is in pristine condition, as is the dust jacket, and at only NZ$14.00 you couldn't get a better deal. You can order it now on the website or pop in to the Dunedin shop

Why Italians Love to Talk About Food - 9th Aug 2017

Why Italians Love to Talk About Food: A Journey through Italy's Great Regional Cuisines from the Alps to Sicily

When Elena Kostioukovitch first visited Italy, she was struck by the difference in culture, in particular the way Italians talk so passionately about food.

In this book she visits Italy region by region, detailing the enormous variety of local dishes. But this book isn't just about delicious meals. It delves into the culinary history behind the dishes of each region, when certain ingredients were introduced to Italy and how their use has changed over time. It also gives an insight into the diversity of Italian people and their culture - what makes each region unique and how different people talk about their love of food.

This is certainly worth a read for anyone who loves talking about food as much as Italians do, or anyone interested in Italian culture and history.

SAVE the HARD TO FIND BOOKSHOP! - 3rd Aug 2017

A historic building and an iconic secondhand bookstore need your help

Before getting to the point, here’s a bit of a preamble…

The bookshop began as a hobby in a garage back in 1983, a real bookstore in 1984, and found its present home in Onehunga, Auckland, New Zealand in 1988. It was founded on my passion and obsession for books of all kinds, and I believe we have created a store with an essence of magic, pleasure and surprise, a repository of learning, knowledge and entertainment. The books in the shop are complemented by the store itself - a several storey nineteenth century chaotic shambles of a timber building with well-worn wooden stairs and original wallpaper still hanging (just) from the walls. It is both a cultural icon and an economic anachronism with a unique bookish atmosphere available to all incomes and tastes.

Many thousands of customers from around the world have visited as children, supplied themselves as students, and now bring their children to experience the piles of tumbling books and half-hidden treasures. Hundreds more people have worked short or longterm with us over the last 34 years and helped shape the shop as it now is.

Unfortunately we are in crisis and this friendly dinosaur faces extinction... which is why this email has arrived in your inbox. The landlord hasn’t maintained the building for the last twenty years and is now signalling a massive rent increase, one we won’t to be able to afford. Our only hope is to try and raise funds to buy the building and restore it to its glory, either fully funded or with a viable deposit. Despite working pretty much seven days a week I don’t own properties or have savings or bankable assets. The business has been a labour of love which pays our wages and continues to give a great many people of all ages pleasure, but there are no gold bars buried in the garden (we’ve looked).

As the only resort i can think of we have come up with a crowdfunding campaign, and we are hoping you can help us by either preferably donating at this secure crowdfunding site…https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/hardtofindbookshop or if that does not sit well with you, perhaps supporting us by purchasing some books from us online at our website www.hardtofind.co.nz

Thanks for taking the time to read this letter. Any help you can give us is greatly appreciated. Please do pass this on to anyone you know who may be interested, particularly any philanthropic millionaires or billionaires.